The Adventures of Superhero Girl

"A young woman faces the trials and tribulations of being a superhero while still living an ordinary life, including struggling to make rent, buying her capes from secondhand stores, and being overshadowed by her superhero brother." -- Provided by publisher.

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Superhero Girl is your average twenty-something struggling with her identity, finances, and social life, while also fighting evil ninjas and space monsters in the streets of Toronto. Despite her skills, she lives in the shadow of her older brother Kevin, who is famous for his crime fighting success.

Superhero girl is a real superhero. She just doesn't look like one and has everyday problems to contend with too - like paying her rent and finding some way to make money to support her superheroing. This was a fun little book styled in homage to the old style of comics while not conforming to many of them. Each strip stands on its own, so there's no real plot per say, but it's great fun

It's not easy being a superhero. With no archenemies, annoying civilians, and life's crises plaguing her, Superhero Girl struggles to be the hero she wishes to be, and she has plenty to say about this with her laughter inducing sarcasm and wit. Hicks clearly displays her knowledge of comic lore and traits in what is a terribly funny look at the superhero genre. Her use of the comic strip format, ben-day dots, and references to popular heroes, both harkens back, and pays homage to the golden age of comics. She even gives a nod to her own Canadian roots, and the particular difficulties of being a hero in a country devoid of supervillains. Due to the format choice, there is no linear plot, but each segment does add up in order to give a clear picture of Superhero Girl's life. She may have special powers, but she is not treated specially. In fact, she is more normal than super. She has a roommate, money problems, and all the same personal issues that most people have. More time is spent on these than on her heroic deeds. Comic books tend to focus on the superhero persona, with the real person acting more like the disguise. In this case though, Superhero Girl takes a different approach. Her heroic duties and needs actually intrude upon her everyday reality. This includes ninjas that appear from nowhere. With plenty of random occurrences, this girl's life is never dull.

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Quotes

"I... l came into the store to get marshmallows for my morning cup of hot chocolate and they told me all the marshmallows had been stolen" (page 52. I think I laughed a little to much when I read this.)